News Roundup 10.15

In this new, regular installment, Cross Campus reads all the other papers so you don’t have to — Yale related articles, opinion pieces from professors and studies from Yale departments all summarized in quick bursts.

Creature from the deep

The carcass of a giant sea turtle washed up along the shores of Milford last week. Members of Yale’s Peabody museum believe it is a leatherback giant sea turtle and scientists from the museum have been eager to acquire the turtle’s remains for study. Regulations require the remains of the endangered species to be removed from the shore quickly, and a willing and qualified party such as the Peabody museum might provide a final resting spot for the carcass.

Cause of death? Likely either the consumption of a plastic bag mistaken for a jellyfish—a regular part of the leatherback’s diet—or being struck by a boat propeller in the open ocean.

Do-good bankers?

In an interview with the Associated Press, Robert Shiller said finance has gotten a bad reputation after the recent recession, but he believes much good can come from financial markets. Shiller, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics this week, said Monday slanted distribution of income is the most important modern problem we face, according to the Connecticut Post.

According to Shiller, inequality and unequal distribution of wealth has been on the rise. To counteract this, Shiller recommended a plan to raise taxes on the wealthy and thereby narrow the gap. Shiller defended the moral character of finance by adding that the proper application of economics could resolve such income discrepancies. Moreover, students who find themselves on the underprivileged end of inequality are able to receive financial aid due to investments, he noted.

Her big break

Lupita Nyong’o YSD ’13 was cast in a feature role of Steve McQueen’s film “12 Years a Slave” just three weeks after graduating from the Yale School of Drama. “12 Years a Slave” is based on the life of Soloman Northrup who was a free man until he was captured and brought into slavery. A limited release of the highly touted film will open on Oct. 18.

Nyong’o is a Kenyan actress who graduated from Hampshire college and has starred as the lead role in MTV’s “Shuga”.

Feelin’ less depressed

In the past much of the research related to anti-depressants targeted the dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine systems. A new research study published in Molecular Psychiatry by Dr. Gerard Sanacora, director of the Yale Depression Research Program at the Yale School of Medicine, has shown that a new neurotransmitter system is a viable pathway for anti-depressants. Sanacora performed the study with a drug that has similar anti-depressive effects as ketamine, but without some of the undesirable consequences of ketamine abuse.

AstraZenaca Pharmaceuticals sponsored the study and is the developer of the drug.